Before the war ths man was a well-do-do clerk lving in Athens GA. As early as 1862, he went to work at the Cook and Brother Armory which manufacturered an Enfield look-alike for the Confederate government on East Broad Street. Here's an article about the Armory and local defense battalion composed of armory workers --

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/090501/ath_cook.shtml